Published: Wednesday, April 10, 2013 at 1:56 p.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, April 11, 2013 at 11:33 a.m.

Jamesine Fischer, who pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of a 2011 crash involving death, was sentenced Wednesday to 25 months in jail followed by a lengthy probation.

Fischer earlier in the day testified that she did not know she had struck a woman the night of the accident.

From the witness stand, Fischer, who is the wife of Flagler County School Board member John Fischer, apologized to the family of Francoise Pecqueur, the woman who was fatally struck on Nov. 10, 2011.

“I had no idea at the time that my vehicle had struck the victim. I actually believed she had fallen. I was actually confused and in some sort of denial.

“This accident is a nightmare I will regret for the rest of my life,” Jamesine Fischer said.

Jamesine Fischer was driving her PT Cruiser about 6 p.m. Nov. 10, 2011 when it struck Francoise Pecqueur as she walked her dog along Columbia Lane near Colechester Lane in Palm Coast. The 76-year-old Pecqueur died two days later.

Jamesine Fischer, 56, of Palm Coast was charged with leaving the scene of a crash involving death, a first-degree felony punishable by up to 30 years in prison. But according to a plea agreement she reached with prosecutors, Fischer faced between 21 months to three years followed by 10 years probation. Her driver's license will also be suspended for three years following her release from prison.

Earlier in the day, Jamesine Fischer spoke in a halting voice. She would throw her head back at times and look at the ceiling. She dabbed at her eyes with tissue.

“When I turned around to see where the dog was going, I saw Ms. Pecqueur laying in the swale," she said. "I went to her and she was not conscious or not alert. She was bleeding from her mouth.”

She said Pecqueur was bleeding so she turned her so she wouldn't choke. She said people were coming out of their houses. Jamesine Fischer said she asked if anyone had called 9-1-1 and when no one had, she asked a man to call. She said that's when a man called 9-1-1.

She said she remained at the scene until paramedics took Pecqueur away.

Defense attorney Steve Alexander asked her about her plea.

“We entered a plea of guilty to this charge because you are guilty, correct?” Alexander asked.

“Correct” she said.

“Do you agree on everything that you know today that you should have called the police that night,” Alexander asked.

“I suppose. I guess. I was in total denial,” Jamesine Fischer said. “I just couldn't believe what had happened. I was wrong.”

Jamesine Fischer insisted that she only heard a thud or a thump the night of the crash. Bausch asked whether it wasn't more like “a loud bang, not a loud striking”?

When Bausch showed her a picture of the large crack in the windshield of her car, Fischer said that picture was deceiving because it was a close-up.

Bausch also told her that some of Pecqueur's hair was found embedded in the windshield.

“And all you heard was a thump or a thud and your car didn't shake. Is that what you want us to believe?” Bausch said.

“My hair falls out all the time,” Jamesine Fischer said.

“Ms. Fischer, your hair is not embedded in the windshield of your car or anybody else's, correct?” Bausch said.

Jamesine Fischer said it had been a horrific night.

“All I can say is, you know, it was horrific, it was horrible,” she said. “I'm not saying I didn't do it. I'm just saying I was totally in disbelief.”

Bausch also returned to why she had not called police.

“This idea of denial and disbelief,” Bausch said. “That's what you are saying caused you not to call the police. You couldn't accept the fact that you had run over somebody and you couldn't call the police?”

“I know, I was wrong,” Jamesine Fischer said.

Jamesine Fischer said she thought it had been the retractable leash that had struck her windshield.

“I was wrong. I was wrong. I should have called the police,” she said at another point. “That was my job. I'm not saying that wasn't wrong. I'm saying I was completely confused. My soul was in denial.”

Bausch also asked Fischer whether she had been drinking that night and if that's why she did not call police.

“Mrs. Fischer, were you drinking that night?” Bausch asked.

“Not at all,” she said.

Fischer also said she had not been taking any medication.

“How do we know that?” Bausch asked.

“Because I would not have stayed at the scene if I was hiding something,” Fischer said.

Bausch told her the real reason that she didn't call police was because she needed time to sober up.

”No, no, no,” Fischer said, her voice rising with each “no.” “I said I was not drinking that night.”

Bausch said store clerks at a convenience store near the scene had reported seeing her sitting in the parking lot drinking alcohol.

“Small bottles of wine and, yes, I had a few sips,” Jamesine Fischer said.

But she denied drinking that night or that day.

Earlier in the day, John Fischer testified that his wife appeared to be in “shock” the night of the accident. He said he arrived home about 8:30 p.m. or 9 p.m. that night and saw the damage to the car. He said he and Jamesine drove back to the scene of the crash to see if police were there.

Bausch asked him why they were looking for law enforcement.

“It was just to see what actually was going on, if anything at all,” John Fischer said. Afterward they went back home and prayed, he said.

“What were you praying about?” Bausch asked.

“We were praying that this woman was OK. We were praying that everything was going to be OK,” John Fischer said.

“By the time you got back home, you and your wife realized that she had actually hit an individual, correct?” Bausch asked.

“Well, actually, I don't know. I think she was just in a state of shock and, you know,” John Fischer said.

“Mr. Fischer, you just said that you were praying about the condition of the woman, correct?” Bausch said.

“Yes sir,” Fischer said.

Bausch said Fischer knew that the woman had been treated at the scene and he had seen the damage to the windshield.

“Mr. Fischer, isn't it correct that by that time you realized that your wife had struck a pedestrian and not a dog,” Bausch said.

“I assumed but I did not know that for sure, no sir,” Fischer said.

“And yet you waited another eight hours before you contacted law enforcement, even though you had gone to the scene to see if law enforcement was there?”

Yes, sir,” Fischer said.

Other witnesses earlier in the day described Jamesine Fischer as a "good Christian" who did a lot to help others.

Mary Olivett said she met the Fischers through church. She said Jamesine Fischer, whom she called “Jamie,” was very good with the children. She volunteered with the Catholic church, mostly teaching second-graders, and has been a good member, Olivett said under questioning by defense attorney Alexander.

Bausch asked Olivett about religious values.

“Certainly one of the tenets of western religion is to tell the truth, not to lie to people?” Bausch said.

"Yes,” Olivett said.

Bausch also asked a couple of witnesses if they knew about Jamesine Fischer's problem with alcohol. Bausch asked one witness whether she knew that store clerks in Palm Coast had reported seeing Jamesine Fischer buying alcohol.

She said she did not know about that.

Edgar Walter of Flagler Beach said he met the Fischers through the church and the Knights of Columbus. He said Jamesine Fischer volunteered and taught in a church school.

“John Fisher and his wife are the most Christian couple I have ever met in my life,” Walter said.

Bausch asked him a question about the church school.

Walter replied that it was a Catholic school and he could tell Bausch was not Catholic. That elicited groans from some in the courtroom. Circuit Judge J. David Walsh asked for order.

Bausch grinned and continued asking Walter if he had ever seen the Fischers drink.

“I have never seen either of them drink,” Walter said.

Betty Bifano of Palm Coast also testified. Jamesine Fischer has said she was on her way to Bifano's house when she struck Pecqueur, according to records. Bifano testified that she has known Jamesine since the couple lived in New Jersey.

Bifano said Fischer had planned to take her to see her husband, who has since died but was at a rehabilitation center that night.

“She was going to come and tell me that she couldn't stay for dinner because she had to get home,” Bifano said. “She was going to take me that night over to see my husband at a rehab center and so I didn't get to go.”

Bifano said Fischer has been a great friend.

“She's been the best I could have for a friend,” Bifano said.

Bausch asked why Fischer didn't take her to see her husband.

Bifano said she didn't ask.

"She didn't tell me why she couldn't stay," Bifano said.

"Did she tell you she had been in an accident," Bausch asked.

"Not in so many words," Bifano said.

Bifano testified that Jamesine Fischer said "I thought I bumped into a dog." She said Jamesine Fischer told her she had to go home and see her husband.

While Jamesine Fischer stopped at the scene, she did not call 9-1-1. That was done by a passer-by, records show. Jamesine Fischer was also accused of trying to deceive emergency workers by telling them that Pecqueur had fallen, according to a charging affidavit.

Jamesine Fischer also did not call the Sheriff's Office until 11 ½ hours after the accident to report the crash, records show. The Sheriff's Office handled the original call like a medical call, even though the passer-by who called 9-1-1 said that he thought a woman had “just passed out on the street” and added that she had blood coming from her mouth. A deputy did not respond for about six hours.

That, together with phone calls between then-Sheriff Don Fleming and John Fischer, led to a controversy that helped Jim Manfre defeat Fleming in November.

<p>Jamesine Fischer, who pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of a 2011 crash involving death, was sentenced Wednesday to 25 months in jail followed by a lengthy probation.</p><p>Fischer earlier in the day testified that she did not know she had struck a woman the night of the accident.</p><p>From the witness stand, Fischer, who is the wife of Flagler County School Board member John Fischer, apologized to the family of Francoise Pecqueur, the woman who was fatally struck on Nov. 10, 2011.</p><p>“I had no idea at the time that my vehicle had struck the victim. I actually believed she had fallen. I was actually confused and in some sort of denial.</p><p>“This accident is a nightmare I will regret for the rest of my life,” Jamesine Fischer said.</p><p>Jamesine Fischer was driving her PT Cruiser about 6 p.m. Nov. 10, 2011 when it struck Francoise Pecqueur as she walked her dog along Columbia Lane near Colechester Lane in Palm Coast. The 76-year-old Pecqueur died two days later. </p><p>Jamesine Fischer, 56, of Palm Coast was charged with leaving the scene of a crash involving death, a first-degree felony punishable by up to 30 years in prison. But according to a plea agreement she reached with prosecutors, Fischer faced between 21 months to three years followed by 10 years probation. Her driver's license will also be suspended for three years following her release from prison.</p><p>Earlier in the day, Jamesine Fischer spoke in a halting voice. She would throw her head back at times and look at the ceiling. She dabbed at her eyes with tissue.</p><p>“When I turned around to see where the dog was going, I saw Ms. Pecqueur laying in the swale," she said. "I went to her and she was not conscious or not alert. She was bleeding from her mouth.”</p><p>She said Pecqueur was bleeding so she turned her so she wouldn't choke. She said people were coming out of their houses. Jamesine Fischer said she asked if anyone had called 9-1-1 and when no one had, she asked a man to call. She said that's when a man called 9-1-1.</p><p>She said she remained at the scene until paramedics took Pecqueur away.</p><p>Defense attorney Steve Alexander asked her about her plea.</p><p>“We entered a plea of guilty to this charge because you are guilty, correct?” Alexander asked.</p><p>“Correct” she said.</p><p>“Do you agree on everything that you know today that you should have called the police that night,” Alexander asked.</p><p>“I suppose. I guess. I was in total denial,” Jamesine Fischer said. “I just couldn't believe what had happened. I was wrong.”</p><p>Jamesine Fischer insisted that she only heard a thud or a thump the night of the crash. Bausch asked whether it wasn't more like “a loud bang, not a loud striking”?</p><p>When Bausch showed her a picture of the large crack in the windshield of her car, Fischer said that picture was deceiving because it was a close-up.</p><p>Bausch also told her that some of Pecqueur's hair was found embedded in the windshield.</p><p>“And all you heard was a thump or a thud and your car didn't shake. Is that what you want us to believe?” Bausch said.</p><p>“My hair falls out all the time,” Jamesine Fischer said.</p><p>“Ms. Fischer, your hair is not embedded in the windshield of your car or anybody else's, correct?” Bausch said.</p><p>Jamesine Fischer said it had been a horrific night.</p><p>“All I can say is, you know, it was horrific, it was horrible,” she said. “I'm not saying I didn't do it. I'm just saying I was totally in disbelief.”</p><p>Bausch also returned to why she had not called police.</p><p>“This idea of denial and disbelief,” Bausch said. “That's what you are saying caused you not to call the police. You couldn't accept the fact that you had run over somebody and you couldn't call the police?”</p><p>“I know, I was wrong,” Jamesine Fischer said.</p><p>Jamesine Fischer said she thought it had been the retractable leash that had struck her windshield.</p><p>“I was wrong. I was wrong. I should have called the police,” she said at another point. “That was my job. I'm not saying that wasn't wrong. I'm saying I was completely confused. My soul was in denial.”</p><p>Bausch also asked Fischer whether she had been drinking that night and if that's why she did not call police.</p><p>“Mrs. Fischer, were you drinking that night?” Bausch asked.</p><p>“Not at all,” she said.</p><p>Fischer also said she had not been taking any medication.</p><p>“How do we know that?” Bausch asked.</p><p>“Because I would not have stayed at the scene if I was hiding something,” Fischer said.</p><p>Bausch told her the real reason that she didn't call police was because she needed time to sober up.</p><p>”No, no, no,” Fischer said, her voice rising with each “no.” “I said I was not drinking that night.”</p><p>Bausch said store clerks at a convenience store near the scene had reported seeing her sitting in the parking lot drinking alcohol.</p><p>“Small bottles of wine and, yes, I had a few sips,” Jamesine Fischer said.</p><p>But she denied drinking that night or that day.</p><p>Earlier in the day, John Fischer testified that his wife appeared to be in “shock” the night of the accident. He said he arrived home about 8:30 p.m. or 9 p.m. that night and saw the damage to the car. He said he and Jamesine drove back to the scene of the crash to see if police were there.</p><p>Bausch asked him why they were looking for law enforcement.</p><p>“It was just to see what actually was going on, if anything at all,” John Fischer said. Afterward they went back home and prayed, he said.</p><p>“What were you praying about?” Bausch asked.</p><p>“We were praying that this woman was OK. We were praying that everything was going to be OK,” John Fischer said.</p><p>“By the time you got back home, you and your wife realized that she had actually hit an individual, correct?” Bausch asked.</p><p>“Well, actually, I don't know. I think she was just in a state of shock and, you know,” John Fischer said.</p><p>“Mr. Fischer, you just said that you were praying about the condition of the woman, correct?” Bausch said.</p><p>“Yes sir,” Fischer said.</p><p>Bausch said Fischer knew that the woman had been treated at the scene and he had seen the damage to the windshield.</p><p>“Mr. Fischer, isn't it correct that by that time you realized that your wife had struck a pedestrian and not a dog,” Bausch said.</p><p>“I assumed but I did not know that for sure, no sir,” Fischer said.</p><p>“And yet you waited another eight hours before you contacted law enforcement, even though you had gone to the scene to see if law enforcement was there?”</p><p>Yes, sir,” Fischer said.</p><p>Other witnesses earlier in the day described Jamesine Fischer as a "good Christian" who did a lot to help others.</p><p> Mary Olivett said she met the Fischers through church. She said Jamesine Fischer, whom she called “Jamie,” was very good with the children. She volunteered with the Catholic church, mostly teaching second-graders, and has been a good member, Olivett said under questioning by defense attorney Alexander.</p><p>Bausch asked Olivett about religious values. </p><p>“Certainly one of the tenets of western religion is to tell the truth, not to lie to people?” Bausch said.</p><p>"Yes,” Olivett said.</p><p>Bausch also asked a couple of witnesses if they knew about Jamesine Fischer's problem with alcohol. Bausch asked one witness whether she knew that store clerks in Palm Coast had reported seeing Jamesine Fischer buying alcohol.</p><p>She said she did not know about that.</p><p>Edgar Walter of Flagler Beach said he met the Fischers through the church and the Knights of Columbus. He said Jamesine Fischer volunteered and taught in a church school. </p><p> “John Fisher and his wife are the most Christian couple I have ever met in my life,” Walter said.</p><p>Bausch asked him a question about the church school.</p><p>Walter replied that it was a Catholic school and he could tell Bausch was not Catholic. That elicited groans from some in the courtroom. Circuit Judge J. David Walsh asked for order.</p><p>Bausch grinned and continued asking Walter if he had ever seen the Fischers drink.</p><p>“I have never seen either of them drink,” Walter said.</p><p>Betty Bifano of Palm Coast also testified. Jamesine Fischer has said she was on her way to Bifano's house when she struck Pecqueur, according to records. Bifano testified that she has known Jamesine since the couple lived in New Jersey.</p><p>Bifano said Fischer had planned to take her to see her husband, who has since died but was at a rehabilitation center that night.</p><p>“She was going to come and tell me that she couldn't stay for dinner because she had to get home,” Bifano said. “She was going to take me that night over to see my husband at a rehab center and so I didn't get to go.”</p><p>Bifano said Fischer has been a great friend.</p><p>“She's been the best I could have for a friend,” Bifano said.</p><p>Bausch asked why Fischer didn't take her to see her husband.</p><p>Bifano said she didn't ask.</p><p>"She didn't tell me why she couldn't stay," Bifano said.</p><p>"Did she tell you she had been in an accident," Bausch asked.</p><p>"Not in so many words," Bifano said.</p><p>Bifano testified that Jamesine Fischer said "I thought I bumped into a dog." She said Jamesine Fischer told her she had to go home and see her husband.</p><p>While Jamesine Fischer stopped at the scene, she did not call 9-1-1. That was done by a passer-by, records show. Jamesine Fischer was also accused of trying to deceive emergency workers by telling them that Pecqueur had fallen, according to a charging affidavit.</p><p>Jamesine Fischer also did not call the Sheriff's Office until 11 ½ hours after the accident to report the crash, records show. The Sheriff's Office handled the original call like a medical call, even though the passer-by who called 9-1-1 said that he thought a woman had “just passed out on the street” and added that she had blood coming from her mouth. A deputy did not respond for about six hours.</p><p>That, together with phone calls between then-Sheriff Don Fleming and John Fischer, led to a controversy that helped Jim Manfre defeat Fleming in November.</p>